From CNN, a place to watch election results

CNN is turning tonight’s election into an opportunity for a timely alternative media campaign.

The network will set up an outdoor viewing area on the corner of 47th Street and Broadway in Manhattan where people can watch election results live starting at 4 p.m.

The area will include three jumbo screens as well as iReport booths, where voters can share their Election Day stories, play election trivia or create mementoes.

CNN-branded food carts will also be on hand giving out hot chocolate, coffee, pretzels and hot dogs.

It’s a clever way to remind people about the cable network in a year when Fox News Channel has been the clear election ratings winner.

CNN will also have outdoor viewing options set up in four other cities, including a screen at Thompson Center Plaza in Chicago, where President Barack Obama’s campaign is based, and one in Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, where Mitt Romney has his headquarters.

The network will also have screens set up at the Miracle Mile Shops in Las Vegas and at Grand Park in Los Angeles.